When all is said and done, the 2016 field of Republican candidates is going to be one of the biggest sideshows we’ve seen in modern American political history. Hell, perhaps even in all of American political history.

Currently there are ten Republican candidates with at least three more who are certain to declare their candidacies soon (Jeb Bush, Bobby Jindal, Scott Walker) and the potential for a few others (Chris Christie, Donald Trump, John Kasich). We’re looking at a potential field of sixteen GOP candidates.

That’s absolutely insane.

Well, the newest entrant into the circus came yesterday when former Texas governor Rick Perry declared his candidacy. While his announcement has been expected, no sane person thinks he has a shot at winning. Hell, he isn’t even more popular in Texas than Ted Cruz, who he would have to beat in order to get the nomination. Does he really think he’s going to be picked by Republican voters as their candidate for the general election when he can’t even win his home state?

Out of all the current candidates, he’s the one who seems to be running on nothing but pure ego rather than at least having some sort of ulterior motive like Carly Fiorina or Ben Carson, both of whom seem to be in it just to make money from the exposure.

Naturally, Jon Stewart was rather giddy about Perry’s announcement, devoting a good portion of his opening segment to mocking the former governor.

He then went on to mock Perry’s decision to wear glasses, a move many people think he made to appear more intelligent after his humiliating 2011 “oops” moment.

Then Stewart turned his attention to potential candidate Jeb Bush, pointing out the extremely shady way in which Bush has essentially been campaigning to be president – while avoiding officially declaring – so he can skirt campaign finance laws as they relate to raising money and coordinating with his PACs.

The fact that Bush can look people in the eye and say that he’s still “not sure” shows what an unscrupulous liar he is. For months he’s literally been out there campaigning for the presidency, maybe more than any other Republican, yet he continued to imply that he was still “thinking” about it.

If you haven’t gotten a chance to watch Bob Schieffer’s final interview, which happened to be with Jeb Bush, I would highly recommend checking it out. He pressed Jeb really hard on why he hasn’t announced his candidacy and the former Florida governor just came off looking completely sleazy.

It’s segments like these that make me realize just how much I’m going to miss Stewart when he retires at the end of this summer.

Allen Clifton is a native Texan who now lives in the Austin area. He has a degree in Political Science from Sam Houston State University. Allen is a co-founder of Forward Progressives and creator of the popular Right Off A Cliff column and Facebook page. Be sure to follow Allen on Twitter and Facebook, and subscribe to his channel on YouTube as well.

Comments

Jon Stewart is nothing more than a comedian.He should refrain from adult conversations about politics.

Jillz

It has already been proven that Jon Stewart viewers are better informed than FOX viewers (and most other mainstream news sources). I presume you are a FOX viewer?

Peter Wimsey

In contemporary America, “comedians” are the only ones who are willing to tell the truth.
Stewart has been merciless on the hypocrites, panderers, and sleaze balls in the political arena.
He doesn’t have to depend on lies and conspiracy theories as Fox does, he uses recordings of candidates’ actual words and gestures.
No wonder that young voters find him more reliable than any other news source.

Harry Miller

The court jester always was able to get the King’s ear when others were either ignored or pushed aside.